THE ASSEMBLY STATE OF NEW YORK ALBANY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOUSING STANDING COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT. ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING Subject: The Division of Housing and Community Renewal's (DHCR's) Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent Control. Purpose: To examine DHCR's administration of the rent stabilization and rent control systems. Note: This hearing was originally scheduled for December 16, 1986. However, due to the Legislature having been called for a Special Session, the hearing was rescheduled. NEW YORK CITY Friday, March 6, 1987 10:00 A.M. 270 Broadway State Office Building 11th Floor Please see the reverse side for a list of subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony. Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committees at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation. Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committees will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be scheduled in the order in which they arrive. The Committees, upon request, will be available privately to hear or receive confidential testimony from witnesses who do not wish to testify at the public hearing. Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committees would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements. In order to further publicize the hearing, please inform interested parties and organizations of each Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources. ALEXANDER B. "PETE" GRANNIS Member of Assembly, Chairman Committee on Housing RHODA S. JACOBS Member of Assembly, Chairperson Committee on Oversight, Analysis dc Investigation ------------------------- PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM The DHCR's Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent Control Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on DHCR's Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent Control are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to: Tracy Racine Legislative Assistant, Assembly Committee on Housing State Capitol, Room 442, Albany, N.Y. 12248 (518)455-4305. Please check the appropriate blank and return this form as soon as possible prior to the scheduled hearing. Complete information is essential so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation. [ ] I plan to attend the hearing on DHCR's Administration of Rent Stabilization and Rent Control on March 6, 1987 in New York City. [ ] I plan to make a public statement at the hearing. My statement will be limited to 10 minutes, and I will answer any questions which may arise. I will provide 10 copies of my prepared statement. ------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOUSING STANDING COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION PUBLIC HEARING ON DHCR'S ADMINISTRATION OF RENT STABILIZATION AND RENT CONTROL Questions to Which Witnesses May Direct Their Testimony: 1. DHCR inherited a backlog of rent overcharge and other cases when it assumed administration of the rent regulation system in April, 1984, and accumulated an additional backlog of cases in the first months of its operation. What procedures and policies has DHCR used in reducing this backlog? 2. How effective has the agency been in resolving tenant complaints, including challenges to initial registrations, fair market rent appeals, individual and building-wide service complaints and complaints of landlord harassment? What is the current resolution time for these complaints? What could be done to improve the agency's performance in handling these cases? 3. How effective has DHCR been in processing owner applications for major capital improvements, hardships and other types of owner claims? How long do these applications currently take to process? How could DHCR process these cases faster and/or more fairly? 4. How well has the rent registration process worked and how could this operation be improved? 5. Are tenants and owners able to obtain accurate information about the rules governing the rent regulation system and their individual cases or applications from DHCR? How could the agency improve its delivery of public information? 6. The Omnibus Housing Act of 1983 directed DHCR to establish a Small Building Owners Assistance Unit to help small building owners deal with the requirements of the rent stabilization system. How well has this unit performed and how could its functioning be improved? 7. The Legislature increased DHCR's rent administration budget this year by $350,000 for the purpose of allowing DHCR to hire additional attorneys and support personnel for the enforcement bureau/harassment unit. How has DHCR utilized these funds? 8. How successful has DHCR been in obtaining owner compliance with DHCR orders? What could be done to improve compliance? 9. How well has the administrative review process worked in resolving challenges to decisions of district rent administrators? How could this process be improved? What has the volume of administrative review petitions and Article 78 proceedings against final Commissioner's orders been relative to the number of cases resolved by district rent administrators? 10. Given the caseload handled by DHCR, is the agency properly organized to meet its responsibilities? Could it be organized in a more efficient way? Does DHCR receive adequate funds to do its job properly? Is the agency able to attract and retain high quality staff?